Beat the Heat Read-a-Thon Wrap Up

• The Beat the Heat Readathon runs from July 29th through August 11th. What does this readathon entail, you ask? Well, read as much or as little as you want – the main point is to READ! You set your own goal, and for two weeks you read as many books as you can/want to reach your goal!
• There will be mini-challenges throughout the Readathon for participants, along with a grand prize giveaway at the end!
• Sign up at Auntie Spinelli Reads or Phantasmic Reads. You may join whenever you like, but to be eligible for our grand prize giveaway, you must sign up by August 5th.
• To join, all you have to do is make a sign-up post – even if it’s just a “Let’s do this!” thing - and add your post URL to the linky below! You can put your goals and progress (will be required for the final giveaway) in your sign-up post, or you can make it separate. Totally up to you! Feel free to copy and paste this handy little list for your post. We don’t mind. :)
• In order to enter for the grand prize, you must have a post to keep track of your progress so we can see that you participated.

Originally this was going to be my wrap-up post but, as said here, the read-a-thon will continue on for another week (oh yeah I rhymed!).  That's why I have a different button above :)


So, these were my goals for this read-a-thon:

Read 8 books

Finish City of Fallen Angels

Finish The 5th Wave

The Books I Planned To Read:

Needless to say...that didn't happen lol.


So, here is a wrap-up of the past two weeks.



Note: I got kind of mixed up on the amount of pages I read each day for City of Fallen Angels, so if the pages don't add up that's why lol.

Monday, July 29:

68 pages of City of Fallen Angels

Tuesday, July 30:

60 pages of City of Fallen Angels
12 pages of My Life Next Door

Wednesday, July 31:

382 pages of My Life Next Door
*finished My Life Next Door*
24 pages of Then You Were Gone

Thursday, August 1:

188 pages of Then You Were Gone
*finished Then You Were Gone*
64 pages of Red Heart Tattoo

Friday, August 2:

152 pages of Red Heart Tattoo
*finished Red Heart Tattoo*

Saturday, August 3:

32 pages of City of Fallen Angels

Sunday, August 4:

20 pages of City of Fallen Angels

Monday, August 5:

40 pages of Girl of Fire and Thorns
188 pages of City of Fallen Angels
*finished City of Fallen Angels*

Tuesday, August 6:

26 pages of Girl of Fire and Thorns
*gave up on Girl of Fire and Thorns*
122 pages of Sweet Evil

Wednesday, August 7:

32 pages of Sweet Evil

Thursday, August 8:

139 pages of Sweet Evil
*finished Sweet Evil*

Friday, August 9:

221 pages of Looking for Alaska
*finished Looking for Alaska*
48 pages of The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Saturday, August 10:

165 pages of The Perks of Being a Wallflower
*finished The Perks of Being a Wallflower*
48 pages of The Fault in Our Stars

Sunday, August 11:

265 pages of The Fault in Our Stars
*finished The Fault in Our Stars*

Monday, August 12:

288 pages of Wild Cards
*finished Wild Cards*
10 pages of Perfect Ruin

Tuesday, August 13:

346 pages of Perfect Ruin
*finished Perfect Ruin*

Wednesday, August 14:

0 pages of anything lol

Thursday, August 15:

42 pages of The Fault in Our Stars
*started to re-read The Fault in Our Stars*

Friday, August 16:

100 pages of The Fault in Ours Stars

Saturday, August 17:

38 pages of The Fault in Our Stars

Sunday, August 18:

84 pages of The Fault in Our Stars


The Books I Ended Up Reading:

My review of My Life Next Door

My review of Then You Were Gone

My review of Sweet Evil

My review of The Perks of Being a Wallflower

How did you guys do?  Link me up!!!

{Review} Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Sweet Evil
by Wendy Higgins
Series: Sweet Evil #1
Pages: 453
Release Date: May 1, 2012
by HarperTeen

Goodreads / Purchase

Embrace the Forbidden. What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences? This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels.
Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She's aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but it isn't until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He's the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.
Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

The first thing you notice about this book is obviously the cover.  I absolutely love this cover, and it fits perfectly with the book.  Yes, this book is about angels.  BUT!  It is so unlike any angel book I’ve ever read!  It is so original, and the spin on angels is so different, I couldn’t help loving it.  Yes, it took some getting used to, but once I got over the fact that at times it was a bit cheesy, I really enjoyed the idea.  I liked how Higgins did these huge info dumps throughout the book, and how she worked them into the story so that they weren’t out of place or boring.  The writing was very good, and I loved her descriptions and character building.  The story line was very interesting, and didn’t go like I expected it AT ALL!  [SPOILER: I totally expected Kaiden and Anna to try and overcome the fact that they couldn’t be together, but I was so sad when they didn’t end up together.  ]  The staging was very good, and the sexual tension between Kaiden and Anna made the book so interesting.  Also, that ending was nuts!  Not at all what I was expecting, but really great.

Let’s just start of with Kaiden.  Now, Wiggins actually wrote in the book that his name is pronounced Ka-i-y-den, the Kai pronounced like “Thai”.  But I just couldn’t read his name like that, so I just call him Kay-den.  Whoops.  Anyway, let’s just get it out there that I FREAKING LOVE THIS MAN!  God damn it he’s sexy.  It’s fictional boys like these that are just ruining my life because I know I can never find someone like them.  Ugh.  But oh hot damn was this guy attractive.  I just loved this quote:

Wowza.

He was smokin’ hot.  As in H-O-T-T hot.  I’d never understood until that moment why girls insisted on adding an extra T.  This guy was extra-T worthy.

But he was also a really great, nice guy, despite his “job”, and he really cared about Anna.  Anna I thought was a really great main character, and I loved seeing her grow over the course of the story.

All in all, this book was highly enjoyable (mostly because of Kaiden) and I really can’t wait to read the next book, especially after that crazy ending.

3.5 stars

Beat the Heat Read-a-Thon Progress Report

• The Beat the Heat Readathon runs from July 29th through August 11th. What does this readathon entail, you ask? Well, read as much or as little as you want – the main point is to READ! You set your own goal, and for two weeks you read as many books as you can/want to reach your goal!
• There will be mini-challenges throughout the Readathon for participants, along with a grand prize giveaway at the end!
• Sign up at Auntie Spinelli Reads or Phantasmic Reads. You may join whenever you like, but to be eligible for our grand prize giveaway, you must sign up by August 5th.
• To join, all you have to do is make a sign-up post – even if it’s just a “Let’s do this!” thing - and add your post URL to the linky below! You can put your goals and progress (will be required for the final giveaway) in your sign-up post, or you can make it separate. Totally up to you! Feel free to copy and paste this handy little list for your post. We don’t mind. :)
• In order to enter for the grand prize, you must have a post to keep track of your progress so we can see that you participated.

Originally this was going to be my wrap-up post but, as said here, the read-a-thon will continue on for another week (oh yeah I rhymed!).  That's why I have a different button above :)


So, these were my goals for this read-a-thon:

Read 8 books

Finish City of Fallen Angels

Finish The 5th Wave

The Books I Planned To Read:

I can proudly say that I have completed my goal!  Heck yeah!  Granted, I didn't read all the books I was planing to, but I DID read 9 books, so that's freaking awesome for me!

Also, since the read-a-thon is going on for another week, here are my new goals!

Read 5 books

Finish Perfect Ruin

I'm only about 40 pages into Perfect Ruin and I don't know which books I'm going to be reading yet.

Also, I will have a full wrap-up at the end of the read-a-thon.

HOW ARE YOU GUYS DOING SO FAR?!

Comment below!

{Review} Then You Were Gone by Lauren Strasnick

Then You Were Gone
by Lauren Strasnick
Pages: 224
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: January 8, 2013
by Simon Pulse (an imprint of Simon & Schuster)

Goodreads / Purchase

In the tradition of 13 Reasons Why, a suspenseful and heart-wrenching novel from the author of Nothing Like You and Her and Me and You. Two years ago, Adrienne’s best friend walked out of her life. One week ago, she left Adrienne a desperate, muffled voicemail. Adrienne never called back. Now Dakota is missing. She left behind a string of broken hearts, a flurry of rumors, and a suicide note. Adrienne can’t stop obsessing over what might have happened if she’d answered Dakota’s call. And she’s increasingly convinced that Dakota must still be alive. Maybe finding and saving Dakota is the only way Adrienne can save herself.
Or maybe it’s too late for them both.

This book was not what I was expecting it to be.  The main reasons that I had issues with this book was the writing, the story line, and the ending.  The writing was not good.  It was disjointed and didn’t flow.  Also, Strasnick doesn’t explain setting.  For example:

.

Lunch.  Lee’s birthday. Me, Katie, Lee, sharing a sleeve of Fig Newtons and throwing shit (pen caps, paper clips, baby carrots) at each other’s faces.  We’re laughing.  I’m in Lee’s lap.

I could go on and on copying the passage, but basically, they are in the school cafeteria.  There is no mention of where they actually are until the next few pages after.  Now, I know this might seem like I’m being annoying and stuff, but this bothers me, because I can’t image the scene.  Also, that was an example of Strasnick’s writing.

The story line was lacking as well.  It didn’t really focus on Dakota being missing, it mostly focused on Adrienne’s issues with her boyfriend, and her sneaking around with this guy, Julian.  Great.  And then, the ending was SO WEIRD!  [SPOILER: Dakota ran away.  That is not okay.  I would have been okay with it if the book had focused on Adrienne looking for clues as to what happened to Adrienne, but, as it was, it stunk.  Yes, I get the explanation for Dakota running away…but doesn’t Dakota not being dead kind of make the whole book pointless? ]

Let me just start off by saying that I was NOT happy with how this book ended on the romance side of things.  [SPOILER: I did NOT want Adrienne to end up with Julian.  Lee was a great guy, really nice, and Julian was just kind of meh. ]

Adrienne was an ok character.  I think she was really messed up, and a very damaged character.  Her thinking was at times completely crazy, but sometimes YA needs those messed up, dark characters.  Lee was a really nice guy, good boyfriend, and I really liked him.  Julian was just kind of a weird character for me, and I wasn’t really a huge fan.

This book was very dark and gritty and messed up, and I liked that aspect of the book.  But the writing, story line, and ending really brought the book down for me.

2 stars

{Review} City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

City of Fallen Angels
by Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments #4
Pages: 424
Release Date: April 5, 2011
by Margarte K. McElderry Books (an imprint of Simon & Schuster)

Goodreads / Purchase

he Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She's training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And - most importantly of all - she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.

But nothing comes without a price. Someone is murdering Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine's Circle, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second bloody war. Clary's best friend, Simon, can't help her. His mother just found out that he's a vampire and now he's homeless. Everywhere he turns, someone wants him on their side - along with the power of the curse that's wrecking his life. And they're willing to do anything to get what they want. At the same time he's dating two beautiful, dangerous girls - neither of whom knows about the other one. When Jace begins to pull away from Clary without explaining why, she is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: She herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. The stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.

Originally I wasn't going to finish this book. But then I got some comments saying that it got better, so I finished it. And really liked it.  I was kind of on the fence about whether or not I liked that Cassandra Clare added 3 more books to a series that, it looked to me, had wrapped up perfectly in book 3.  I wasn’t going to finish this book, or the rest of the series, until a commenter said that [SPOILER: Sebastian came back ], and after that I was sold.  At this point in the series, the Shadowhunter world is so complex and well explained that I feel like if I went to New York I would totally find Jace and Clary.  The writing, I’ve noticed over the course of the series, is very good, but at times I feel like it’s a bit dense, as in Clare feels the need to explain things in great detail, and every little event, such as searching a building, has to be very precise, and sometimes when there’s a ton of action or a really cliffhangery part of the book, I just can’t read that boring description stuff.  So I do find myself sometimes skipping parts, but that really isn’t Clare’s fault because it’s just how I am and how I read.  So I’m not really complaining.  The Clace drama and also Simon’s drama was kind of annoying in the beginning (well actually Simon was annoying the whole book) but the Clace drama really made sense and added to the story.  The story really wasn’t going anywhere for the first half of the book until BAM holy shit [SPOILER: Lilith is raising Sebastian from the dead] and after that it’s just great.  AND OH MY FREAKING GOD THAT LAST PAGE, THAT LAST PAGE OF THE WHOLE BOOK FREAKING KILLED ME.  [SPOILER: What does it mean?!  Sebastian and Jace are connected now, so does that mean that Jace is controlled by Sebastian again and that Jace has demon blood now?!  Holy shit!  (please don’t actually answer those questions in the comments below lol I don’t want spoilers for the next book).  But OMG that completely floored me.]

Basically I’m in love with Jace.  Not kidding, I love him.  I even dream about him.  All night.  Yes.  My brother thinks I’ve gone insane, and he said that Jace is ruining my life.  WELL HE IS!  Jace is perfection.  I have never wanted a fictional character to be real as much as I want Jace.  I’M TELLING YOU GUYS UNLESS I CAN FIND A BLONDE, SEXY, HALF-ANGEL SHADOWHUNTER I’M GOING TO DIE ALONE!  And OMG have you guys seen Jamie Campbell Bower?!  HE IS PERFECTION!  God okay I need to stop.  Basically I love Jace so much it hurts.  It really does.

As for the other characters, I feel like with every book Clary becomes stronger and stronger.  I think she really grew in City of Glass so by this point she is a really great character.  And then you have the rest of the Shadowhunter gang, Isabelle, Alec, Magnus (I TOTALLY SHIP MALEC BY THE WAY), and, of course, Simon.  Who I no longer like.  He’s been kind of getting on my nerves for a while, but after this book I just don’t like him at all.  [SPOILER:  To me he came off as a jerk because he was dating both Isabelle and Maia, a werewolf.  I thought that was just really sleazy of him. ]

I am now fully invested in this series, and will most definitely finish it.  Jace is ruining my life, but oh well.

4 stars

Authors Are Rockstars - Amy Tintera

Amy Tintera is most definitely a ROCKSTAR!  Her debut, Reboot, was so full of romance, suspense, and action.  The romance was so adorably sweet, the story was so fast-paced and interesting, the the action scenes were breathtaking.  Plus she loves Back to the Future!  Do not miss out on this book!

I wanted to read Reboot because I saw PolandbananasBOOKS do a review of it on YouTube, plus it looked really interesting and like a great idea!  So I bought it off Amazon, zipped right through it, and loved it.  Not an amazing story, I know, but good enough, right? ;P

Reboot
by Amy Tintera
Series: Reboot #1
Pages: 365
Release Date: May 7, 2013
by HarperTeen

Goodreads / Purchase

Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).Wren’s favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie is the worst she’s ever seen. As a 22, Callum Reyes is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he’s always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet there’s something about him she can’t ignore. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line—or she’ll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows if she does, she’ll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum. The perfect soldier is done taking orders.

Bio:

Hi! I'm Amy Tintera, young adult author. My debut novel, REBOOT, comes out May 7, 2013. Film rights have been optioned by Fox.

Connect:

Goodreads | Website | Twitter | Facebook

Author Interview:

YOU

1. When did you start reading and writing?

I started reading at a very young age because my mom is a big reader. So there were always books around and we would go to the library almost every week. I was the kind of kid who read a book a day! Because I was such a big reader I became interested in writing very young, and I was writing novels by the time I was 12.

2. What were you like as a teen?

Shy! I’ve always been an introvert, but I was even more shy as a teen. But I found a great group of friends and I was on the dance team my junior and senior year of high school, which was a fun experience. I was also pretty busy, because of dance team, work (Old Navy, then DSW), and writing books. I’m not sure how I kept up with everything!

3. What is your favorite genre to read at the moment?

Definitely YA, and within YA I love sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal and contemporary. And some historical occasionally! I’m a big fan of the YA category and ready widely in it.

YOUR BOOK

1. When and how did you get the idea for Reboot?

I got the idea for REBOOT the day before Thanksgiving, 2010 (it’s crazy I remember the exact day, but I do!). I really got the idea for Wren first – she was in my head, saying she’d been dead for 178 minutes, and I built the idea of REBOOT around her.

2. Where did you write Reboot?

Everywhere, honestly. I wrote the first draft entirely by hand, partly because I could take the notebook with me wherever I went. I wrote on my lunch breaks, on my yoga mat while waiting for class to start, in bed, at coffee shops.

3. Did you have any say in the cover design?

I sent my editor some other covers I liked, but I have no talent for art or design. I basically just said “I want something awesome!” and luckily HarperTeen is great at doing awesome covers.

4. Is there another book in the works? If so, what can we expect?

Yes! The sequel to REBOOT comes out May 6, 2014. It’s a duology, meaning there are only two books in the series, so everything is wrapped up in this book. And all I’ll say is that the sequel picks up exactly where REBOOT left off!

THIS OR THAT

1. Dark chocolate or milk chocolate?

Milk, but I eat both.

2. Fruit or vegetables?

Fruit! (But I have to eat vegetables, so I do. Occasionally.)

3. Cats or dogs?

Dogs.

4. Hardcover, paperback or ebook?

Hardcover!

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE?

1. Movie?

Back to the Future.

2. Ice cream flavor?

Chocolate chip cookie dough.

3. Social media site?

Twitter!

4. Animal?

Dog.

5. Book?

Tough one, but I usually say If I Stay by Gayle Forman.

THANK YOU SO MUCH AMY FOR STOPPING BY!!!! 

{Review} My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

My Life Next Door
by Huntley Fitzpatrick
Pages: 394
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: June 14, 2012
by Dial (an imprint of Penguin)

Goodreads / Purchase

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, messy, affectionate. And every day from her rooftop perch, Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them… until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs up next to her and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely for each other, stumbling through the awkwardness and awesomeness of first love, Jase's family embraces Samantha - even as she keeps him a secret from her own. Then something unthinkable happens, and the bottom drops out of Samantha's world. She's suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?
A transporting debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another.

This book is so much more than a fluffy contemporary.  This book is dark, sad, emotional, uplifting, romantic, and amazing.  It is easily one of my favorite contemporaries ever!  I’m telling you guys, Huntley Fitzpatrick is the new Sarah Dessen – only maybe a bit better.  This book was so well done!  For one, I absolutely LOVED the Garrett family!  Those guys were a riot.  The writing was so amazing, and I loved the humor and the dialogue.  This book had so many things going on, and I couldn’t believe the twists and turns that happened.  And that ending! It broke my heart!  I think Fitzpatrick did a really great job of developing the romance, which I sometimes find lacking in contemporary books.  But I loved how the romance grew and was so sweet, and the writing just topped off the amazing story perfectly.

Let’s spend a while talking about these crazy Garretts, shall we?  This pretty much describes a normal day at the Garrett house:

We walk into the living room to find Alice and her Brad sprawled on the brown sectional couch, Brad rubbing Alice’s feet.  George is fast asleep, naked, facedown, on the floor.  Patsy is wandering around in a purple terry cloth footie pajamas, plaintively saying “Boob.”

Yep,  That’s them.  And they’re freaking awesome.  So many things about the Garretts I really love and support, like the fact that Mrs Garrett breastfeeds, and that she has kids but not for religious reasons.  They’re just an all-around awesome, crazy family.

Then we get to the main characters, Jase and Sam.  They’re freaking perfect for each other!  Jase is such a sweet, nice, cute guy, and Sam is kind of a victim of her mother, but I think she is a very strong character because of the way she handles her situation.  And then we have Tim, the drug addict who’s trying to give it up, and Clay, Sam’s mom’s evil boyfriend, and a ton of other people, all of who affect the story line, and make the story interesting.

I know this is kind of a bad review ( I can’t concentrate because my own crazy brothers are loudly playing Transformers next to me.  Ugh ), and I don’t do the book justice with this horrible review, but seriously guys, I love this book!  The complex story, sweet romance, and awesome characters make it such an enjoyable read, and the perfect summer book.  I highly recommend it!

5 pink flowers

Burning Blog Tour Stop

Burning
by Elana K. Arnold
Pages: 320
Release Date: June 11, 2013
by Delacorte Press

Goodreads / Purchase

Ben: Having just graduated from high school, Ben is set to leave Gypsum, Nevada. It's good timing since the gypsum mine that is the lifeblood of the area is closing, shutting the whole town down with it. Ben is lucky: he's headed to San Diego, where he's got a track scholarship at the University of California. But his best friends, Pete and Hog Boy, don't have college to look forward to, so to make them happy, Ben goes with them to check out the hot chick parked on the side of Highway 447.
Lala: She and her Gypsy family earn money by telling fortunes. Some customers choose Tarot cards; others have their palms read. The thousands of people attending the nearby Burning Man festival spend lots of cash--especially as Lala gives uncanny readings. But lately Lala's been questioning whether there might be more to life than her upcoming arranged marriage. And the day she reads Ben's cards is the day that everything changes for her. . . and for him.

Guest Post:

I am a big fan of research, and so far all of my novels have allowed me to fall into interesting worlds. I become kind of obsessed with my subject matter while I’m researching, and I begin to see my “special interest” all around me. When I was writing SACRED, I delved into Kabbalah; for BURNING, I got to research Romani people, gypsum mining, and the Burning Man festival. What a wonderfully rich combination of topics!I love Google. I think that had I been writing BURNING fifteen years ago, it could have taken me years to gather the information I needed to write it. But in the magical world we inhabit today, I was able to find out-of-print collections of Romani poetry and fables, connect with an agronomist who send me pictures of the gypsum mine where he works, find Burners who were eager to share their stories, and read articles about the real town of Empire, Nevada, on which I based Ben Stanley’s town of Gypsum.In fact, it was a picture in one of these articles that inspired the opening scene of BURNING—Ben and his friends skating in an abandoned gypsum mine. I can’t seem to find that picture again, but here’s a link to an article about the town: http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/nevada-and-west/empire-death-nevada-company-town. I originally heard about Empire by chance, just listening to NPR as I drove. Here’s a link to the transcript of that interview: http://www.npr.org/2011/06/20/137304964/shuttered-plant-marks-the-end-of-a-nevada-town. I had already decided that my female protagonist would be a Romani Gypsy, and when I heard that the residents of Empire mined Gypsum, my Scooby ears stood up. Then I learned that Empire was located near the entrance to Burning Man, and I knew I had discovered my setting, and the home of my male protagonist Ben Stanley. Really, everything about BURNING is linked to that setting—the desperation, the shuttering of a town, the hard choices, the end of things, the blistering heat and unrelenting, oppressive sun. 

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway